A mass shooting outside a popular bar in downtown Austin, Texas early Sunday left three people dead, including the shooter, and 14 others injured. Evidence found on the shooter has led authorities to mention the possibility of a terrorist motive and a link to the Iranian conflict.
The attack happened shortly before 2 a.m. at Buford’s Backyard Beer Garden on West Sixth Street near the University of Texas at Austin, police said. The shooter has been identified as 53-year-old Ndiaga Diagne, a naturalized U.S. citizen originally from Senegal, who started firing at patrons outside the venue before being shot and killed by responding officers.
Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis said officers on routine patrol in the entertainment district arrived within 57 seconds of the first emergency call about gunfire. They confronted the suspect and returned fire, fatally wounding him at the scene.
Police described the shooting as sudden and chaotic, and the gunman first fired from a large SUV with its hazard lights on before getting out and continuing his attack on pedestrians.
With three dead at the scene,14 others were taken to nearby hospitals with various injuries, and three of the wounded remained in critical condition, emergency officials reported.
Federal authorities are assisting local law enforcement in the investigation. Acting Special Agent in Charge Alex Doran of the FBI told reporters that the Bureau’s Joint Terrorism Task Force has joined the case. He said there were indicators related to the shooter and his vehicle that suggest a possible link to terrorism. Doran noted that it was too early to determine a clear motive for the attack.
I’ve heard from multiple sources that the Austin shooter wore a shirt saying “Property of Allah.” – in addition to Quran in car, and naturalizing from Senegal just over a decade ago. https://t.co/KuGXx4MfBt
— Chip Roy (@chiproytx) March 1, 2026
Fox News reporter Bill Melugin stated that police described the shooter as wearing a shirt reading ‘Propety of Allah’, and was possibly wearing an undershirt or T-shirt that had an Iranian flag or Iranian representations on it.
The presence of these items, along with the timing of the attack amid a United States and Iran following military conflict and the death of Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei, has led investigators to look into whether ideological motivations related to international events were involved. However, no official link has been confirmed.
Austin Mayor Kirk Watson stated that city officials were organizing support for the victims and thanked first responders for their quick actions. “Their swift response undoubtedly saved lives and reduced further casualties,” Watson said in a statement.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott also released a statement offering state support for local and federal authorities and warned against any attempts to use global conflicts to threaten Texans.
The FBI’s investigation will involve interviews, forensic examinations of the scene and digital evidence, and coordination with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, officials said. At the time of writing this report, authorities had not publicly confirmed any formal conclusions about the shooter’s motives or whether the act met the legal definition of terrorism.
Reports of potential Iranian sleeper cells in the U.S. have emerged following fears of revenge attacks following the bombardment of Iran. A former Israeli general claimed the Middle Eastern nations will be ‘waking up sleeper agents across the West’, but so far, Iran has launched a barrage of missile strikes killing Americans and Israeli.
